Desire's Prisoner (Planet Desire Book 1) by Delilah Devlin

along.
    *
    Adam watched Evena as she moved from table to table in the dining room, speaking with the women huddled in groups.
    At the start of the meal, a committee of women whose expressions indicated they had a bone to chew had drawn her from his side.
    By the number of times the women gestured toward the men, he knew with a sinking feeling his well-laid plans were about to be dealt a blow.
    “Doesn’t look good,” Darak said around the rim of his mug of ale.
    “What started all this? Did anyone mention any problems with any of the girls?”
    “Not really,” Darak mumbled.
    “What?” Adam gave him a sharp glance. “There was an issue, and no one brought it to my attention?”
    “Well, it wasn’t an issue, really.”
    Annoyed, Adam drummed his fingers on the tabletop.
    A frown darkened Darak’s expression. “It’s just that some of the women were asking whether they could bring people with them.”
    “As in, more of the women?”
    “Yes.”
    “They were told in the beginning, we needed only a hundred.”
    “Right, but I don’t think they realized how much work was ahead—until we spoke with them during the interviews today.”
    “I specifically said we would be starting a colony. What part of my briefing did they not understand?”
    “The part about taking care of their husbands’ homes, helping with the crops in the fields, and raising the babies. They said the division of labor sounded a little uneven.”
    “Uneven? That’s how it’s done.”
    Darak shrugged. “I’m just telling you what I heard.”
    “Well, they will just have to get over it. Besides, I’m sure the men will help out with the women’s chores—if they become too onerous.”
    Darak cast him a doubtful glance.
    Adam caught Evena’s gaze and indicated with a crook of his finger that he needed her.
    Evena’s brows rose, but she kept right on talking.
    “See how well they obey? And you thought they’d be so grateful, they’d be an easy sell.” Darak chuckled.
    Adam placed a hand in the center of Darak’s chest and shoved him off the bench. While Darak sputtered in a pool of spilt beer, Adam noted with a great deal of satisfaction his Alarian silk shirt was drenched.
    The men nearest him laughed, drawing the women’s attention.
    Evena rose to her feet and strode toward him.
    Disgruntled that it had taken an altercation to bring her to his side, Adam folded his arms over his chest and waited.
    Evena climbed over the bench opposite him and took a seat. She opened her mouth to speak.
    But he forestalled her, gesturing for more food to be brought to the table. “What would you like to eat tonight, love? We’ve yak and Samureen beef, fresh vegetables acquired from a freighter just a week from Earth, and fruit. Strawberries and apples.”
    Evena glowered, but she picked up a fork and stabbed a slab of beef, moving it to her plate.
    Adam hid a smile. Tonight, she wasn’t so quick to refuse his offering. A glance around the room and he noted the women had begun to disperse, finding seats among the men. Perhaps he’d worried for nothing.
    Evena cleared her throat. “Adam, the women have asked me to negotiate the terms of your bargain.”
    Adam spread his hands. “I’m a reasonable man, Evena. I’ll hear you out—but if this has anything to do with adding numbers to the passenger list, well, that’s just not happening.”
    “And where does the reasonable part enter into this?” she snapped.
    “Evena, I’ve stockpiled supplies to support my men and a hundred women for one year. If I take more people, we may starve before we can harvest our first crops.”
    “And you think the women will last the year with the work you and your men expect from them? Haven’t you considered that perhaps more hands will increase productivity? You’re asking an awful lot of women who aren’t used to hard physical labor. And beyond the first harvest, who will be there to support the men’s wives when they start to bear children?”
    Adam